HELLO NEPAL

The Himalayan Times 30 March 2015 Brilliant idea It was very interesting to read the news report “Modi urges well-off Indians to give up gas subsidies” (THT, 28 Mar. Page 12). Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recently urging his affluent countrymen to give up their cooking gas subsidies for helping the other energy starved poor people and make easy access to clean fuel. After this announcement, 280,000 consumers have voluntarily unsubscribed from program that offers subsidized cooking gas thus helping his government save IRs one billion. Does our Prime Minister or his government have ever thought about this brilliant idea? If not, this exemplary step taken by Modi should be an eye opener for our PM. The government can save huge amount of money out of this program and will be able to provide cooking gas at a more subsidized rate to the poor people.   In the rural areas of Nepal , local people use firewood, hey and cow dung for cooking foods severely ...

Frustration The level of frustration of the general people towards the major political parties has grown so high that could be detrimental for them (political parties) in the long run in terms of their political existence. The sad demise of CA I without giving new constitution due to irresponsible and immoral acts of the political parties has been bitter experience for the people. The self-declared deadline also passed by without giving much awaited new constitution. How long they will take this time to forge consensus on major issues is uncertain. If both the ruling and opposition parties continue to argue in their own ways concerning the contentious issues, there seem dismal chances of coming to consensus in near future. They should agree to immediately announce another deadline for giving the new constitution and start the political process to forge consensus rather than wasting time on blame game. The never ending game of coming to consensus should be ended soon. ...

The Himalayan Times 9 March 2015                    Not surprising It was not surprising to read the news “Former King’s men raising their heads, says Madhav Nepal ” (THT, 7 Mar. Page 3). At a time when major political parties have found it difficult to forge consensus on some major issues of the new constitution for the last seven years, it is natural that people start looking for an alternative force which can bail the country out of such crisis. The level of frustration of the common people seems so high that it may cross its limit at any time pushing the country towards yet another confrontation. The so-called big parties have failed this time also to fulfil their pledges of drafting the new constitution within the self-declared dead-line. As long as they continue to stick to their guns, the chances of resolving the ongoing political deadlock seem dismal. And, if this situat...

The Kathmandu Post 8 th March 2015 TELL THE TRUTH It seems now that there must have been some kind of understanding between the Ex-king and the then agitating parties during the peak of Jana Andolan II reached in order to save their face and stop the country from a blood-bath as reported (“ Ex-king, parties had a deal: Thapa” 4 Mar, Page 3). What remains to be now seen is that who will be bold enough to disclose the details of the deal. The time has come for the political parties to be sincere and tell the sovereign people of Nepal about the deal if there was any. I salute Kamal Thapa for boldly sticking to his political principles from the beginning of political change that swept the country after Jana Andolan II. If he has any idea about the deal, he should make it public. It is entirely upto the people to decide what to do afterwards. As a sensitive citizen, I have no inclination for a political party but believe strongly in democratic norms and values. I...

The Himalayan Times 3 March 2015 Act soon The recent acid throwing incident that took place in the heart of the Kathmandu must have shocked and terrorized many parents and girl students all over the country. The two victims are recuperating in Bir Hospital . Such incidents, however, rare in Nepal but not uncommon in the Asian countries, should not be lightly taken by the concerned authorities. This has shown that such a harmful and dangerous chemical is easily available in the market putting the lives of especially of women and girls at risk. Until now, the culprit is at large. He should be caught at the soonest possible and imprisoned with heavy punishment. It is known to everybody that even the drugstores in Nepal are found to be selling medicines without doctor’s prescriptions which may be harmful to human health. For this also, the concerned authority need to promptly act in order to minimize health hazard of the common people. Likewise, the government sh...

The Kathmandu Post 27 February 2015 POLITICAL DEADLOCK  It was not surprising to the read the news report ‘Talks in peril as no side gives in’(February 18, Page 1) at a time when the opposition is flexing its political muscle through mass demonstrations which could be detrimental for both the sides. This could further fuel political mistrust and push the country further towards political uncertainty. So far, parties have not even publicly apologised for their failure to draft a new constitution within the January 22 deadline. Unless they rise above their petty political interests, parties cannot forge consensus on major issues of the constitution. And why can’t major political parties be sincere and responsible towards the nation instead of allowing external forces to suggest them on what they should be doing? It is the prime responsibility of the ruling parties to create a conducive environment and bring the opposition on board. However, having said tha...

The Kathmandu Post 6 th February 2015 WRONG APPROACH It was very interesting to go through the article (“The next frontier” 4 February, Page 6) by Santosh Gautam & Purna Bahadur Thapa. If we talk about the development programme in Nepal, we take this as the donor driven development agenda. This may be right to a certain extent. However, while contemplating my many years of involvement in bilateral projects, I never felt that they were donor-driven projects. Vision, objectives and outputs of the development programme used to be set in a participatory manner targeting benefits for the maximum number of groups. Project documents were designed to guide the project team to implement projects in a pro-beneficiary manner. But, unless the targeted groups are involved in all spheres, from analyzing their problems, identifying solutions to overcoming those problems and implementing activities themselves, the successful implementation of such development programmes ...

The Kathmandu Post 30 th January 2015 LOSING TRUST It has been normal routine for the common people to be anxious to know as to whether the ruling and opposition parties are now prepared to sit down and continue deliberations on contentious issues (“Ruling bloc invite Maoist, Madhesi parties for talks” 28 Jan, Page 1).   It was really sad and disheartening to see the CA II also fail to fulfil its mandated task. Who should be blamed for this? Was it the ruling parties who tried to push forward their agenda in the name of numerical strength in the CA or was it the opposition that do not want to budge an inch from its petty political interests? It is the prime responsibility of the ruling parties to bring the opposition into the board and make an effort to forge consensus. However, for this, both sides need to be politically sincere towards the nation and its people and rise above their petty political interest. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to know th...